My Wife's Silence Hid Another Man's Name

Ever since my wife, Allison Strong, gives birth to our son, Noel Russell, she becomes unable to speak.

The doctors say it is likely a psychological issue. For three whole years, she does not say a single word to me.

Even when there's a gas leak in the house, she simply waits for me to discover it myself. When Noel cries from hunger, she never tries to comfort him.

After my company goes bankrupt, I don't even have time to grieve. I spend my days delivering packages to support the family while taking my wife to see psychologists and specialists.

One day, I am dead tired after working from morning until night. As I back my car into the garage, I fail to notice that Allison has left three-year-old Noel to play behind the vehicle.

The moment I feel the car roll over something, my gut tells me something is very wrong.

Noel's cries last only a few moments before he falls silent.

My legs nearly give out beneath me.

Forcing myself to stay upright, I scoop up Noel and rush him to the hospital with my hands trembling uncontrollably.

Meanwhile, Allison stands silently somewhere to the side.

Just like always, she says nothing. Her expression remains absolutely unfazed. Though she is the one who has given birth to Noel, everything seems completely unrelated to her.

I have a mental breakdown.

Grabbing her by the shoulders, I shake her desperately and yell, "You saw what was happening, why didn't you warn me? Why did you let him play there? What kind of psychological problem do you have that you can just stand by and watch your own son die?

"Are you trying to destroy me, Allison?"

I scream hysterically, but she still does not open her mouth or make a sound.

Despair engulfs me. Three years of complete silence from her crushes me.

Just when I am about to give up, Allison pushes through the crowd and softly speaks her first words in three years.

They are quiet, but I hear them clearly.

"Clarence..."

Clarence Welch is the name of her first love.

Only then do I realize that her psychological issue is with Noel and me.

Leon's POV

I returned to stand outside the ER doors and clasped my hands tightly together.

Even the toughest man crumbled when consumed by terror. In that moment, all I could do was pray and beg the heavens to spare my son, Noel Russell.

As for my wife, Allison Strong, I didn't care about her anymore.

Noel was still so young. He could barely speak in full sentences, and I hadn't had the chance to take him out and see the world.

Overwhelmed with guilt, I slapped myself hard across the face, over and over.

Why had I gotten drowsy? Why had I been so careless? Why hadn't I checked the rearview mirror?

The crushing exhaustion from work had long been replaced by overwhelming fear. Why did fate have to be so cruel and force me to nearly kill my son?

When the lights above the ER clicked off, the doctor stepped out, his scrubs stained with blood.

"The boy has multiple fractures, and a broken rib punctured his heart. After the surgery, he's going straight to the ICU for observation. You should prepare yourself for the worst."

My legs gave out, and I collapsed to the floor, my body slamming hard against the wall.

…

When I woke up, Allison was sitting by my bed. She looked worried, and the moment she saw me open my eyes, she quickly poured me a glass of water.

Still, she didn't say a word.

I was too exhausted to care or push for answers. Honestly, it didn't even matter anymore.

We used to fantasize about the day she would finally get her voice back, dreaming about how happy our little family of three would be. But now, I knew she just didn't want to talk to us.

My heart was dead and still as I said, "Let's get a divorce, Allison. You were right three years ago. You're a burden, and I despise you."

Allison froze. Her mouth fell open, but no sound came out. All she could do was frantically shake her hand and type out a message on her phone.

"I'm devastated about what happened to Noel too. We need to get through this together."

Tears welled up in my eyes at the mention of Noel. How was I supposed to trust her and convince myself that the voice I had heard was just a hallucination?

While I was losing my mind with fear over losing Noel, she had walked away, navigated through the crowd, and perfectly called out the name of the man she had never truly gotten over—her first love, Clarence Welch.

Even now, how much longer was she going to lie to me?

I refused to talk to her for another second and walked out of the room to stand before the ICU glass windows, looking at Noel.

"This is all my fault," I said. "Give me one more chance, Noel. I'll take you away from here. We don't need your mommy anymore."